How to Optimize Images for Google PageSpeed

Optimize images to pass Google PageSpeed and improve Core Web Vitals — practical guide with free tools.

Google PageSpeed Insights measures how fast your web pages load and provides a score from 0–100. Images are the single biggest opportunity for improvement on most websites — often responsible for 60–80% of page weight. Here is how to optimise images to pass Google's tests.

Google PageSpeed Image Requirements

  • Serve images in next-gen formats: Use WebP or AVIF instead of JPG and PNG
  • Properly size images: Do not serve 2000px images in 400px containers
  • Efficiently encode images: Compress images appropriately for their display size
  • Defer offscreen images: Use lazy loading for images below the fold

Step-by-Step PageSpeed Image Optimisation

  1. Run Google PageSpeed Insights on your URL — note all image-related warnings
  2. Identify each flagged image and its display dimensions on the page
  3. Resize each image in imgresizr.com to the display dimensions (no larger)
  4. Convert JPG and PNG images to WebP format using imgresizr.com's convert tool
  5. Compress the WebP to 80–85% quality for optimal size/quality balance
  6. Replace old images with optimised versions on your website
  7. Add lazy loading attribute to all images below the fold: loading="lazy"
  8. Re-run PageSpeed and verify improvement

Expected PageSpeed Improvements

OptimisationTypical Improvement
Resize oversized images30–60% reduction in image bytes
Convert to WebPAdditional 25–35% reduction
Apply compressionAdditional 20–40% reduction

Optimise all your images for Google PageSpeed at imgresizr.com — resize, convert to WebP, and compress for free.